Ohio – School Employees Save Own Jobs

Marietta, Ohio

Marietta City School employees have won a contract that temporarily takes off the table the possible outsourcing of student transportation and custodial services.

The workers, about 110 teachers’ aides, custodians and bus drivers, are represented by the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)/AFSCME Local 4. They feared for their jobs after the school board proposed contract language allowing privatization of custodial and bus services.

About 100 employees, supportive students and their parents took their concerns public during a September rally, prior to a Marietta Board of Education meeting. “I’ve been here 18 years and I feel like I’m being thrown out with the trash,” high school custodian Ron Morrow said in an interview with The Marietta Times. “Where will we go?”

Their voices were heard. The board decided not to pursue the matter in the current contract, although outsourcing can be brought up in future OAPSE negotiations.